


Artificial

by BlueRaith



Series: Sanvers AU Collection [2]
Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F, Robot AU, We get existential in this bitch
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-12
Updated: 2018-02-12
Packaged: 2019-03-17 07:22:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,079
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13654224
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlueRaith/pseuds/BlueRaith
Summary: Alex discovers Maggie's greatest secret. Maggie must fight her programming and decide what it means to be human.





	Artificial

Maggie sat up in bed, taking a moment to watch Alex sleep peacefully. Normally, she probably would have woken her girlfriend. Alex was a notorious light sleeper. But Maggie had managed to… tire her out last night. She was beautiful in the morning light, and Maggie wondered just how she was expected to have never noticed something as amazing as this.

She left the bed, and went to the bathroom. She turned on the water in the shower, but never entered the stall. Maggie didn’t need to shower, she had self-cleaning processes that ran during sleep modes. Still, it wouldn’t do to not keep up appearances. Alex was very sharp. She’d notice that Maggie never seemed to bathe. She even turned down shower sex, claiming it was overrated and bad for their backs.

Which was very true. For Alex, anyway. But Maggie was glad to have the excuse ready and waiting to go.

Before she got dressed, she checked the knife wound on her side she’d gotten yesterday morning chasing down a perp. It was stitching up nicely. Maggie could barely make out the silvery glint of cybernetics underneath. She’d had to distract Alex last night to keep her from noticing it. Not that it was hard, but what  _ was  _ difficult was keeping this from Alex the longer they dated.

It wasn’t that Maggie  _ wanted  _ to keep this from Alex. She just wasn’t certain how Alex would react. She wasn’t human. She wasn’t from Nebraska. And she wasn’t the child of an overly conservative family.

No, she was a unit from Lord Technologies personal servant line.

Maggie shuddered at the thought of her original programming.

She didn’t like to think about this often. What did it mean to have  _ ‘original programming?’  _ Was all that Maggie was made up of what other people thought she should be? Granted, she was no longer an artificial slave for the richest people on the planet, but she didn’t know if her life was merely another shade of what she should have been doing. Even if she’d gone rampant.

Police protect and served. Something Maggie was meant to do for her…  _ owner  _ all along. She loved having a job. Never thought she would, it seemed humans devoted their natural lives to some kind of service to another all over the world. But it was fulfilling in a way that never would have been if she was just fetching items for someone else. Or being used for pleasure.

Maggie’s shudder grew.

“Mags?” Alex’s sleepy voice sounded through the door. “I’m running out for some donuts. Kara’s coming over, and you know we’ve got nothing for her.”

“Sure, babe. Is she coming through the window?”

Kara never ceased to  _ not  _ surprise Maggie. It was a wonder she’d never triggered Maggie’s self-defense routines.

“Think so. She mentioned a hard night. Alright, I’ll be back later. Love you.”

“Love you, too,” Maggie said over the water.

Once she was certain Alex was gone, Maggie ran a brush through her hair and exited the bathroom. An internal warning rang through her head, warning of low energy levels.

Maggie groaned. Between the case this morning, the one before that with the DEO and Alex, and managing a crime scene Supergirl had inadvertently mangled, Maggie hadn’t had the time to properly see to her battery.

She should have. This was a rookie mistake. One she hadn’t made since she’d escaped the factory line. People didn’t react very well to solar panels popping out of people’s backs and soaking up the sunlight. Apparently it was ‘weird.’

There was probably a few minutes she could risk in the window. The news was talking about a pile up on one of the major highways and Kara  _ should  _ hopefully be predisposed for another fifteen minutes or so.

Maggie had never held Alex’s secret about Kara against her. For one thing, Maggie had learned that family was extremely important to humans. Apparently a part of their own biological programming. She felt similarly about the kind woman who had found and discovered just what Maggie was. She and her daughter had taught Maggie what it meant to be in a small family.

She wished she could share them with Alex and Kara, but they were Maggie’s last line of defense in the case of discovery.

For another, she knew what kind of risks Kara hid from. It was part of the reason Maggie so enjoyed working with aliens in the first place. They knew what it felt to not belong. To have to hide, in order for the very worst not to happen to them. Kara might be nigh invincible, but Alex and Eliza weren’t. It made perfect sense for Kara Danvers to exist and for Alex to feel so protective of her.

Maggie was happy Kara could have that in her life. It was more than Maggie could or would risk for herself. She was really pushing it with Alex, but she’d grown attached to Alex Danvers, and even a thorough search through what had grown from her programming revealed no definitive answers.

She had countless bugs running through her subroutines, but that was a given, considering her rogue status.

The sunlight hitting her panel felt so nice. Part of Maggie couldn’t figure out why that was the case—she had no artificial skin or nerves over that part of her body—but just the feeling of gaining more energy in her battery was nice. Maybe there was something to be said of human psychology. Maggie was an AI, and she wasn’t certain why she’d gotten attached to things like sunlight, certain smells—most of them associated to Alex—or the thrill of riding a motorcycle. It was up to people programmed or educated in that sort of stuff. Maggie was content to just enjoy these feelings for what they were.

“Uh… Maggie?”

Her eyes snapped open.

Kara was hovering uncertainly behind her, gaping at Maggie’s back, and obviously confused.

Maggie panicked.

This had been a  _ stupid risk.  _ She’d known Kara was coming. Sure, she’d been in danger of shutdown, and certainly Alex probably would have finally learned just  _ what  _ Maggie was after a medical examination, but Maggie shouldn’t have  _ ever  _ let it get this bad.

She scrambled away from the window, rushing back to the bedroom ‘area’ and pulled out a dufflebag from under the bed. There was a pain she was feeling that had nothing to do with her physical body.

What was Alex going to think after Maggie disappeared?

What was Maggie going to do when she couldn’t see Alex ever again?

A wave of… sadness, more than Maggie ever thought herself capable of feeling, rushed over her body. Emotion was often a hard thing for Maggie to grasp. Sam had spent a lot of time explaining them to Maggie and trying to process them with her.

“Whoa, hey, what’s going on?” Kara asked frantically and put a hand over Maggie’s.

“I have to go,” Maggie stated flatly, and pulled away roughly. She went to their shared dresser and started to throw as many clothes as she could fit into the thing.

She’d grown  _ so complacent.  _ Normally she’d have a bag packed and ready to go just for this situation.

But Kara snatched the duffle bag away and held it tightly to her chest.

“Wait a second,” Kara said forcefully. “You can’t just  _ leave.” _

Maggie grit her teeth and started walking towards the closet.

“This has nothing to do with you, Kara,” Maggie said as she shucked off her pajama pants and donned some jeans. Modesty was not only something she particularly cared about what with her nature, and the fact that she was beyond caring because she had to  _ get out. _

“But it has to do with Alex,” Kara argued stubbornly. “That’s a lot of stuff you’re trying to leave with. You’re just going to leave her? Without an explanation? Just disappear and she never sees you again?! Maggie, my sister  _ loves  _ you, and you’d just do that to her? I can’t believe you, after all you’ve been through together—”

“I’m not human, Kara! I don’t know if you grasped that just now, but let’s go over the facts: I am a robot. I don’t have  _ any  _ protections humans or even aliens have now.  _ I am designed to be property.  _ No one was supposed to find out. I wanted to live a normal life. I wasn’t supposed to get close to anyone. What was Alex going to say when she noticed I don’t age? Not like a human would, at least. I’ll die as my parts wear out. But Alex was going to notice something was wrong. She’d notice I never eat anything. That I don’t get tired. That I can take hits that most people would have died from,” Maggie exclaimed.

Kara snorted furiously. “So, the plan was to just break up with her, regardless of her feelings?! Why even date her to begin with? Maggie, you’re  _ forever  _ for her! I’ve never seen her like this with anyone!”

For a moment, Maggie struggled to compute what Kara was talking about. Didn’t she hear a word Maggie just told her? About the  _ whole robot thing?  _ It wasn’t something easily missed.

“What? Kara… did you even listen to anything I just said?” Maggie asked after a moment of stunned silence.

“I did,” Kara sniffed. “And I think you must have gotten a few wires crossed somewhere, because you’re acting  _ really  _ dumb.”

Maggie’s eyes narrowed. “Did you just make a  _ joke  _ about this?”

“I did,” Kara repeated primly. She waited a beat for Maggie to answer, but apparently realized that Maggie wasn’t interested in arguing with her. Maggie had gone back to dressing and was slipping some shoes on. She needed to send Sam the code.

“Maggie,” Kara said as she approached slowly, as if trying not to spook a wild animal. “The Danvers took me in after my cousin basically dumped me on their doorstep. I came from another  _ planet,  _ and they’ve not only been my family, but they have protected me for about fifteen years now.  _ Alex  _ has kept all of my secrets. Why wouldn’t she do the same for you? Don’t you realize that our family would be the  _ last  _ people to care about you not being human?”

“You may not be human, Kara, but you  _ are  _ a person,” Maggie said not meeting Kara’s eyes. “I was created by some thoughtless jerk in a factory. Made to satisfy the whims of anyone who bought me. People see aliens and don’t think  _ thing.  _ Sure, the terrible humans out there might compare you guys to animals, but they at least consider you  _ alive.  _ I… don’t get that kind of courtesy. If anyone ever found out about me, I could be captured and sent back to Lord and then promptly destroyed for being a  _ ‘defect.’  _ Tell me how that’s the same as being an alien,” Maggie challenged, feeling the inexplicable desire to  _ cry.  _ A function she did not know she possessed until Sam helped her develop emotions.

It was one of the more annoying ‘features’ she had.

Kara was quiet again, and Maggie thought that perhaps she’d finally gotten through to one of the most annoyingly stubborn people she knew. Alex was right up there too.

“Did you know that on Krypton, we aren’t born from our parents. We’re created in pods, using genetic material from our parent. And then pretty much ‘programmed’ specific jobs for us that will either fit our family house’s political standing or what would best fit our genetics. Sometimes you get more than one choice, and then sometimes it’s just one job and you have to go into it. No one ever really questioned it. We were  _ happy  _ to live the lives the Matrix picked out for us. It was how it was done for hundreds of years by that point. Kal was the first and last Kryptonian to be born naturally in centuries,” Kara finally said.

Maggie shook her head. “That sounds horrible. Your lives are pretty much decided for you in the very beginning. How can you stand it?”

“I didn’t get the same programming. My father was essentially the head of the Science Guild on Krypton. He could do what he wanted with the Matrix as far as I was concerned. My parents wanted a child, but they didn’t set gender or career. Usually those things are decided on the Matrix ahead of time. I might not know what you’ve gone through  _ personally,  _ Maggie, but I am familiar with the concept. You were programmed to do a certain function, but you’ve rejected it and now trying to live your own life. That’s…  _ amazingly powerful.  _ I’ve never heard of a Kryptonian rejecting the Matrix unless they were specifically given the ability.

“Alex won’t care,” Kara promised. “Maybe you didn’t expect this to get serious. I might have to remind you that I  _ can and will  _ throw you into space if you hurt Alex like this, but I can tell that your feelings for her are a lot more powerful that you probably expected them to be.”

Maggie snorted. “I’m not supposed to have emotions.”

Kara rolled her eyes. “You’re so stuck on _what you’re_ _supposed to be,_ that you aren’t noticing _who you are._ I mean, you’re basically a self-learning AI, Maggie. So Maxwell Lord never intended you to have emotions. He’s gross and stupid, and you taught them to yourself anyway. That’s awesome.”

Before Maggie could argue that she was merely the result of a bug in her coding, Alex opened the door and stepped inside with no less than three dozen donuts and a dopey grin on her face.

“Guess who the best sister ever is?” She crowed out as she set the boxes on her bar.

Her smile faded as she took in the mess of clothing that was on their bed and Kara and Maggie facing off with each other. Maggie hated to see her good mood ruined, but if she was planning to leave in the first place, a heartbroken Alex was probably inevitable.

And that thought mysteriously made Maggie feel like she was breaking her own ethics routines.

“What’s going on?” Alex asked, crinkle developing right between her eyebrows.

Maggie was silent, and Kara gestured towards Alex impatiently.

“You need to tell her.”

“I don’t  _ have  _ to tell anyone anything,” Maggie snapped back. “You were perfectly happy with Alex hiding what  _ you  _ were from me, so don’t come at me with this double standard.”

Kara threw up her arms. “You were going to know eventually! I mean, I wanted a chance to get to know you, and then you figured out everything on your own! So, that’s not really a fair comparison. You weren’t planning to tell us about this  _ at all.” _

“Okay, wait a second,” Alex said in confusion as she came closer. “What wrong? Why are you guys arguing?”

She sounded upset as she asked the question. Maggie knew that Alex had been enjoying who much her sister and girlfriend had been getting along lately. It seemed this was the day Maggie was going to be stomping on just about every feeling Alex had.

She fucked up big time, but Maggie just couldn’t see what else there was to do.

“I won’t let you just leave without telling her the truth,” Kara stated firmly. “If you do that, she’s never going to know why and I won’t let that happen. So, what’s it going to be? I can tell her, or she can hear it from you.”

Maggie took in a deep breath. She was programmed not to harm—apparently Lord was a massive nerd on top of being a dick and programmed her with the Three Rules of Robotics—but she  _ really  _ wanted to strangle Kara right now. The conflict in her subroutines was causing what probably felt like a headache to most humans.

Alex looked at Maggie pleadingly. She was clearly confused, and didn’t like what she walked in on one bit. Maggie hated that look on her. She was a badass, secret, federal agent, but underneath it all, Alex Danvers was a very sweet and sensitive person. More than most people gave her credit for, and it usually ended up by Alex getting hurt.

Maggie didn’t  _ want  _ to hurt her, but her sense of self-preservation was probably causing her to act illogical.

_ Damn Third Law. _

She knew Kara wasn’t bluffing. She was going to tell Alex if Maggie didn’t say anything. As horrible as this probably was going to be for Alex, finding out Maggie had been lying to her this whole time, she also knew it would probably hurt a  _ lot worse  _ for Alex to hear this from Kara. Maggie didn’t want to be yet another person in a long list of those who haven’t put Alex Danvers first, but it seemed that wish just wasn’t in the cards for her.

“I’m a robot.”

Maybe not the most sensitive way Maggie could have framed this confession, but she only had so much courage for this. Already she was itching to get back to packing, her programming telling her to  _ run for the hills. _

Alex grinned at first, apparently thinking Maggie and Kara were teasing her, but that grin slowly faded as she realized that they were completely and utterly serious.

“I… what? What do you mean you’re a robot?” Alex asked, completely baffled.

Maggie went to the kitchen, brought out a knife, and carefully cut into her palm. Didn’t want to damage any servos. Alex began protesting immediately.

“Maggie! What are you doing?”

She fell silent when Maggie peeled back her artificial skin and revealed the internal components that made up her hand.

“Robot, android, AI, whatever. I’m not a real person,” she finally said.

Alex’s face had gone completely pale, and she seemed to be utterly shell shocked at this revelation.

Maggie couldn’t take it.

“I… I have to go. I’m sorry, Alex. I didn’t want you to find out. Just…  _ everything  _ I feel for you is real. I might not be… but I—none of this felt artificial. I’m sorry.”

With that, she didn’t even bother gathering her duffle bag. She just finished buttoning her shirt, grabbed her keys, and left. Kara not stopping her this time.

Maggie wiped away a tear that stubbornly fell as she took the stair three at a time. This wasn’t supposed to happen. A part of her had wanted to live in bliss. To pretend she was  _ actually human,  _ and love Alex until they both grew old and died.

Nevermind the fact that Maggie couldn’t grow old. Not like a real human could. Nevermind the fact that Alex would have noticed something eventually. Nevermind that Maggie had pretty much based their entire relationship on a lie.

For several amazing,  _ beautiful  _ months, Maggie Sawyer had realized what it had been to be human. To love and be loved in returned. It was selfish, it was probably cruel, but it was a life Maggie hadn’t wanted to give up.

Now she realized it was something she would  _ never  _ get to have.

***

Alex knew she probably looked like a shell of herself when she walked into the DEO. She didn’t care.

Maggie had disappeared.

After she’d left their apartment, Alex had lifted from her stupor. She didn’t know what to feel. Well, she knew what she felt  _ now.  _ She felt miserable, abandoned, and lied to. Not about the fact Maggie cared for her. But that Maggie had ever trusted her. They were supposed to be in a relationship, and Maggie Sawyer did just about the worst thing she could have.

She ran.

They were in a relationship, and she  _ ran.  _ She didn’t give Alex the courtesy of responding. It wasn’t fair, Alex had left her what felt like  _ hundreds  _ of texts and voicemails, and never got a response.

Alex felt like she was careening between periods of extreme grief and anger.

She was immeasurably sad that Maggie hadn’t felt safe enough to confide in her, had felt like she needed to  _ flee  _ in order to protect herself. And she felt  _ angry  _ that Maggie apparently didn’t want to give her the time of day. No chance to tell Maggie what she was feeling. No chance to tell her to  _ stop being a fucking idiot and just come  _ **_home._ **

“Alex? Are you alright?” J’onn’s deep breath interrupted Alex’s brooding misery.

“What? Oh, hey, J’onn. I’m fine,” Alex said thickly.

She  _ was not  _ going to cry at work.

Alex Danvers wasn’t a quitter. She was going to get Winn to track Maggie Sawyer down, and they were going to  _ talk. _

“Alex,” J’onn stated.

Damn him for knowing her well enough to know she was upset without even reading her mind. He would actually leave her alone if that was what Alex wanted, but he  _ could  _ read minds and probably knew already that Alex was going to explode if she didn’t get this off her chest.

“Did you know Maggie was a… a robot? Android? Artificial Intelligence?” Alex demanded. “You wouldn’t have been able to read her mind. Don’t tell me that didn’t make you look into her past. Does she even exist past a few years ago?”

J’onn sighed. “She told you finally?”

“Yeah, and then she  _ ran,”  _ Alex said through gritted teeth.

“You’re right,” J’onn said after taking in Alex’s disheveled appearance. “I couldn’t read her mind and so I dug into everything I could find on Maggie Sawyer. I feared she might have been a Cadmus operative sent to infiltrate not only the DEO, but yours and Kara’s personal lives. I wouldn’t have allowed her near you if I had thought she would harm you. Detective Maggie Sawyer would have ‘officially’ transferred out of National City if I found anything malevolent in her background.”

Alex waiting impatiently for him to continue. “Well? What did you find? J’onn, I don’t want any secrets. I need to find Maggie. I want her to come home. I don’t care that she’s not human. I’ve done nothing but  _ think  _ about this since she left. She was right. Everything between us is  _ real,  _ and I’m not letting her give up on us so easily.”

“She was created by Lord Technologies as a line of personal ‘assistants.’ From what we could gather, Lord wanted to create the very best. An AI that could learn and react to the needs of its owner. Maggie escaped as one of the first prototypes, and not long after, Lord scrapped the entire project. He learned what most of the galaxy has already. AI is artificial  _ life.  _ It will eventually develop far past the parameters he set for it, and wisely realized the potential dangers he could introduce into the world if an AI decided to become violent rather than just simply trying to live a human life as Maggie decided.

“After that, she was shortly found alone and confused by a Samantha Arias. We’ve tracked just about every movement Maggie made to ensure she didn’t develop any malevolent programming as she’s essentially become rampant. All of her records are impressively falsified and can be traced in payment to various shell companies all connected to L-Corp in some way. In that same time period, Lena Luthor has gone on the record to state that AI, if created, should be regarded as valuable as human life.

“She has some very powerful people in her corner, it seems,” he noted.

Alex was trying to wrap her head around all of this. “Okay… so if she has pretty much the entire Luthor name behind her, I don’t understand why she’d even run in the first place.”

J’onn shook his head. “I don’t believe even Maggie knows that Ms. Luthor has essentially sponsored her own citizenship. Falsified as it is. Alex, this isn’t the first time I’ve come across AI. They aren’t all like Brainiac. Many are simply people inadvertently created by beings who barely comprehend life themselves. They’re just trying to survive. But, they all feel the negative reactions and fears from those who believe that all AI are rampant, rogue software out to destroy all life. Maggie was frightened, and it wasn’t going to matter what your reaction to what she truly is was. AI feel the need for perseverance just as biological life does. Arguably even more so, depending on what their original programming was. I think you should be patient with her.”

“You think I should just let her come to me? J’onn, that’s never going to happen. She’s fled and pretty much gone into hiding,” Alex exclaimed in frustration.

“No, definitely get Agent Schott to track her,” J’onn agreed. “What I meant is that I think you should withhold judgement until you speak with her. Allow her to explain what she is feeling before you become angry with her.”

Alex nodded thoughtfully. She could hold onto her anger until Maggie had a shot to explain her actions. Sure, she hadn’t given Alex the same courtesy, but Alex loved her. She could forgive Maggie for this.

“I need to find her, J’onn. I won’t be able to focus on anything else until I do,” she pretty much pleaded.

“Go. And let her know that none of us care. She has the entire DEO at the ready to hide her real nature even further if she wants it.”

“Thank-you, J’onn,” Alex squeezed his arm before taking off. She needed to get to Winn. She needed to pace behind his chair and glare at him until he gave her the result her very soul needed.

She needed to find Maggie.

***

Ruby was pouting at Maggie from across the room.

Maggie was doing her best to ignore it.

Ever since she had shown up on Sam’s doorstep again and explained what happened, the kid hadn’t stopped sending her death glares while Sam was gone.

Apparently Ruby didn’t approve of her plan to just walk out on Alex and the rest of her ‘family,’ as the kid called them.

Maggie hadn’t the heart to tell her that people weren’t even  _ nearly  _ as kind as her and her mom. She’d probably find out how cruel humans could truly be as she lived her life, but for now, Maggie supposed she could allow her to live in ignorant bliss.

Not to mention the fact that Maggie had  _ no idea  _ who to explain her issues to a child as young as Ruby. She wasn’t an infant, but apparently she was the at the point of development where humans were impulsive, still rather innocent, and saw the world in black and white. Maggie didn’t have  _ any  _ programming on how to deal with children. Apparently Lord hadn’t seen the need for it.

The awkward glaring session was interrupted by a knock on the apartment door. Ruby popped up to answer the door as if they were all expecting a pizza delivery, but Maggie was able to catch her by the arm.

“Wait. Someone could have followed me here. I’ll answer the door.”

She went to a small drawer by the door and retrieved her handgun. Maggie had never actually shot anyone with it. Damn First Law didn’t allow for it. She single handedly had the record for most apprehensions with no on the job shootings. Being a hardy robot that bullets bounced off of had its merits.

Still, most humans balked at firearms and Maggie would use it to her advantage.  _ They  _ didn’t know she wasn’t going to use it.

Peeking through the peephole, Maggie was met with the one sight that was  _ almost  _ as bad as a team of black clad feds at the door sent to apprehend her.

“God  _ dammit,”  _ Maggie muttered.

“Who is it?” Ruby asked curiously.

“She found me,” Maggie answered absentmindedly. She was mentally calculating all the ways she could escape from this apartment without using the front door.

“She?” Ruby repeated, and then started beaming. “Alex found you? What are you waiting for, let her in!”

“I know you’re in there, Maggie,” Alex’s voice sounded through the door. “If you don’t open it, I’m going to kick it down.”

Maggie sighed and allowed Ruby to push her out of the way. The kid opened the door quickly.

_ “Finally,”  _ Ruby said as she stared at Alex seriously. “Maggie said you were a secret agent. I expected you here  _ yesterday.” _

Alex blinked at the kid, but eventually snorted. “Sorry. Maggie’s pretty good at covering her tracks. So, it’s all her fault.”

Ruby turned back to Maggie and scowled at her. “Of course it is. She’s been acting pretty dumb about all this. I  _ told  _ her that her own fiancee wasn’t going to just turn her back on her just because she could set off a metal detector.”

“I don’t set off metal detectors!” Maggie exclaimed. How many times was she going to hear that joke?

“I’ll be in my room,” Ruby announced. “Give you two some privacy. Maggie, you better be on your best behavior.”

With that, Alex and Maggie were alone.

Maggie was trying her best not to just throw herself out the window.  _ Technically,  _ she wouldn’t be breaking any laws—and did she  _ hate  _ Maxwell Lord for programming the dorky things into her head—because she’d  _ probably  _ survive the fall. She was made out of stronger stuff than a human was, at least.

Alex was regarding her with misty eyes.

“Why did you run away?” Alex finally asked, voice taut and staring at Maggie as she was afraid she would disappear into thin air.

“You deserve someone who will make you happy,” Maggie finally said. It wasn’t the truth, the feelings Maggie was trying to hold inside of her body were just too hard to talk about. Before Alex, Maggie would have  _ never  _ expected to develop this kind of capacity to  _ feel. _

She’d been called a sociopath for a reason. It had technically been true. Maggie hadn’t been capable of emotion to the point her past girlfriends would have wanted. And to be fair, Maggie had never thought those relationships were  _ serious. _

But that was before Alex. Before  _ everything  _ had changed. Before a badass, nerdy, new to her sexuality Alex Danvers had  _ truly  _ taught Maggie what it was to  _ live.  _ Sam and Ruby had got the ball rolling, but Alex had hit it out of the damn park.

“Don’t,” Alex very nearly shouted. “Don’t you  _ dare.  _ Maggie,  _ you  _ make me happy. How can you not see that? I don’t care what’s under your skin, I don’t care that you aren’t human. You’re  _ Maggie Sawyer.  _ And that’s pretty damn amazing to me. You said it yourself. What we have is  _ real.  _ And it deserves to be given a real shot. Don’t run from me.”

Alex was practically begging towards the end, and Maggie couldn’t believe this was actually happening to her. It was the last thing she ever would have expected.

“You don’t care?” Maggie asked disbelievingly. “You don’t care that I was created by  _ Maxwell Lord?  _ The same guy who’d stab Kara in the back if he got the chance? Alex, how in the world can you trust me?”

“You’re not Lord,” Alex said stubbornly. “He might have designed the shell, he might have given you the programming to get you started, but if I know Maxwell Lord, I  _ know  _ that he is not capable of creating someone as beautiful, strong, and caring as you are. People are allowed to come into their own. Just look at Lena Luthor, she’s half the reason Maggie Sawyer even exists to the rest of the world. I might have doubted her before, but I sure as hell see what Kara does in her now.”

Maggie was flummoxed for a moment. She had  _ no idea  _ that Lena Luthor of all people had helped her get on her feet. She was going to have to talk to Sam later. How awkward was that? Knowing that the AI she’d ensured could walk around in the world had  _ arrested her for crime she didn’t commit. _

And she never said anything. Maggie wasn’t stupid. Luthor probably knew  _ exactly  _ who she was.

“You don’t care?” Maggie asked again in a whisper. She just couldn’t believe it. How did she find all these people who didn’t give a damn about  _ what  _ she was?

Alex even rolled her eyes.  _ “No!  _ I want you to come home. My sister is an alien, Maggie. She had to learn how to be human too, and she’s just as capable of loving others as you are. It doesn’t matter that you aren’t human to me. God, I will say that to you every day for the rest of our lives if I have to.”

“I’m not a  _ person,  _ not really,” Maggie pointed out. “Everything I am was created, Alex. How do you know  _ any  _ of it is real? What I woke up tomorrow and couldn’t feel love anymore? What if I reverted back to my original programming? What if I just went completely rampant and tried to take over the world? Can you handle that I’m not  _ real?” _

“No. Don’t you say that,” Alex exclaimed. “You are every bit as real to me as anyone else is. How is any of this  _ real,  _ Maggie? You’re made up of metal and polysynthetic fibers. I’m made up of carbon and chemicals. How are my emotions anymore real than yours? Isn’t emotion just a chemical reaction in my brain? It  _ doesn’t matter.  _ So long as we can feel what we feel for each other? I want to wake up to you every morning, Maggie. I want to work cases with you until they force us to retire. I want put up with our crazy family together. Humans can have psychotic breaks. Humans can be horrible people just because the  _ want to be.  _ From where I’m standing, you haven’t presented a  _ single  _ argument that would make this relationship any different than one I’d be having with another human.

_ “I love you, Maggie Sawyer.  _ You’re an idiot, but I don’t care. Just come home with me.”

“I’m sorry,” Maggie choked out. God, what had she done? “I… I was  _ so scared,  _ Alex. I’m sorry. I never meant to hurt you, or… or ignore your feelings. I just… I  _ never  _ want to go back to that place. I never wanted anyone to know what I am. I’m sorry.”

Alex held out her arms, and Maggie didn’t hesitate. She pretty much clamped her whole body around Alex’s and practically sobbed into her shirt.

She still had no idea what these tears were for, as far as Maggie could tell, they offered no practical function towards survival. But  _ damn  _ did they feel like an emotional release from all these  _ feelings  _ she was experiencing. Alex was running her hand through Maggie’s hair and making soft  _ shushing  _ noises.

It wasn’t until the mysterious tears stopped that Maggie pulled away.

“I love you too, Alex Danvers,” she finally said in a thick voice.

Alex smiled at her. “I know. Let’s go home. We can talk more there. And watch Robocop to get away from all these heavy feelings when we’re ready.”

Maggie gave her a look and crossed her arms. “Are you making fun of me?”

“What? I don’t know what you mean. Robocop’s like, one of the staple 80s action movies,  _ and  _ he’s basically you. A robot cop. That’s awesome,” Alex said, grin silly and nerdy.

“I don’t know what that is,” Maggie admitted. The Danvers sisters really did watch too many movies.

Alex gaped at her. “You’ve—you’ve  _ never seen Robocop?!  _ Oh my God…. That… who are these people who took you in? We’re going to have to have a serious talk. I can’t  _ believe  _ they let you go into the police academy and  _ never  _ brought up that movie. Wow. I just… this is unbelievable….”

“You are such a nerd. I don’t get how  _ I  _ can be an AI most people think is decades into the future, but  _ you’re  _ the nerdy one out of the two of us,” Maggie snorted.

Alex hip checked her before walking further into the apartment. “Hush, you. Let’s get your stuff together. I want cuddles.”

Maggie chuckled. Alex was truly one of the most amazing people she had ever met. Stubborn, terrifying in combat, nerdy, and unbelievably soft. If she could learn how human life worked from anyone, she was honored that person got to be her amazing fiance.

“Yeah, Danvers. Whatever you want.”

**Author's Note:**

> I mean... I could have written a high-school AU. But then we wouldn't have angst ridden, soft Sanvers declaring their love for each other even when half of them isn't completely human. They'll break the laws of physics just to be with each other.
> 
> The feels in this fic are largely due to the fact that I was writing to a new band I discovered. They are called Leprous and they are a delightful prog rock band with an angsty metal feel. Electric guitars, electric keyboards, pianos, a damn trumpet solo in one song, and great song composition. Love it. My favorite albums from them is The Congregation.
> 
> Fun fact that I couldn't get into because of the nature of this being a short story: Vasquez is a rogue AI too. Half the reason J'onn was so open to Maggie living her own life.
> 
> Forever Salty that I don't get to read someone else's take on Robot Sanvers. Forever. Salt. Salt Mountain. *Why* did Tumblr choose High School/Coffee Shop/Teacher/Harry Potter AUs??? There are so *many* of these fics that get written on the regular here already. Why leave it to a vote? Just let us authors choose what we want to write for Sanvers Week. I swear, people don't know how to branch out. Okay. I will try not to complain about this every time I post. I can't make promises, because I love reading other people's points of view on these topics we so rarely see here. (I mean, IS there another Sanvers Robot AU out there? I will be searching for any now.)


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